Bible Strands
Jeremiah 6:23
They grasp the bow and spear; they are cruel and merciless. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride upon horses, lined up like men in formation against you, O Daughter of Zion.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord speaks through Jeremiah to Judah, specifically addressing "Daughter of Zion," to announce an invading army advancing from the north. This declaration immediately precedes the people's reaction of paralysis and anguish recorded in the next verse.
The words — The Hebrew יַחֲזִיקוּ (ya.cha.Zi.ku) means "they take hold of," introducing the weapons קֶ֣שֶׁת (Ke.shet, bow) and כִּידוֹן (khi.Don, javelin). The phrase אַכְזָרִי (akh.za.Ri) and לֹא יְרַחֵמוּ (Lo ye.ra.Che.mu) literally state the invaders are cruel and will not show mercy.
The thread — This description of a merciless northern army wielding bows and spears appears again in Jeremiah 50:42 and echoes the judgment language of Isaiah 13:18. The motif of distant nations summoned to execute divine judgment also connects to Isaiah 5:26.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition of the invader's organized brutality and the absolute absence of pity. It confronts the reader with the reality of imminent judgment before detailing the resulting paralysis and fear.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 13:18 Their bows will dash young men to pieces; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; they will not look with pity on the children.
- Jeremiah 50:42 They grasp the bow and spear; they are cruel and merciless. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride upon horses, lined up like men in formation against you, O Daughter of Babylon.
- Isaiah 5:26 He lifts a banner for the distant nations and whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Behold—how speedily and swiftly they come!
- Isaiah 19:4 I will deliver the Egyptians into the hands of a harsh master, and a fierce king will rule over them,” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts.
- Jeremiah 4:13 Behold, he advances like the clouds, his chariots like the whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!
- Jeremiah 4:29 Every city flees at the sound of the horseman and archer. They enter the thickets and climb among the rocks. Every city is abandoned; no inhabitant is left.
- Jeremiah 5:16 Their quivers are like open graves; they are all mighty men.
- Jeremiah 30:14 All your lovers have forgotten you; they no longer seek you, for I have struck you as an enemy would, with the discipline of someone cruel, because of your great iniquity and your numerous sins.
- Ezekiel 23:22 Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will incite your lovers against you, those from whom you turned away in disgust. And I will bring them against you from every side—
- Habakkuk 1:6 For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans—that ruthless and impetuous nation which marches through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own.